Three dimensional shopping cart

ABSTRACT

The present invention generally relates to web based electronic commerce systems. In particular, embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods configured to provide a three dimensional shopping cart for the display of items to be ordered by a user or group of users.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to web based electronic commercesystems. In particular, embodiments of the invention are directed tosystems and methods configured to provide a three dimensional shoppingcart for the display of items to be ordered by a user or group of users.

BACKGROUND

Use of electronic commerce (ecommerce) systems is ubiquitous. Shoppingover one or more web based systems connected to users through theInternet or other wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN)platform is performed by people all over the world, every day. Almostall of these systems rely on catalog style presentation ofgoods/services which are added to an electronic shopping cart which theuser will later confirm and checkout by applying one or more paymentmethods and providing shipping information for the receipt of theirgoods/services.

These shopping carts invariably list the items selected by the users ina linear two dimensional manner. In the most common embodiments, theshopping carts provide for a single item per line, potentially withinformation describing or graphically representing the item along withone or more other pieces of information, such as quantity, size, colorand price. Each additional item is added as a new line to the shoppingcart.

While these shopping carts, as currently implemented, provide a simplesolution to ecommerce checkout processing, they are not always ideal andnot always the most intuitive solution for every shopper's needs. Forinstance, when placing an order for a large group (e.g., a high schoolathletic division), single line entries may end up taking up severalpages or screens to display. Checking entries for correctness in thismanner can be difficult. This can be further complicated if the deliveryaddresses (e.g., different buildings) and shipping times (e.g., forvarious sports seasons) is different for groups of items contained inthe order.

Therefore, there is need in the art for a ecommerce shopping cart systemand method that provides easy and intuitive viewing of items to beordered by a user. These and other features and advantages of thepresent invention will be explained and will become obvious to oneskilled in the art through the summary of the invention that follows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide asystem and method for easy and intuitive viewing of items to be orderedby a user. In particular, embodiments of the present invention aredirected to providing a three dimensional shopping cart for use inecommerce and other web-based ordering and shopping systems.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a web-based systemfor providing a three dimensional shopping cart for ecommercetransactions includes: an item classification module comprisingcomputer-executable code stored in non-volatile memory; a 3D renderingmodule comprising computer-executable code stored in non-volatilememory; a communications means comprising computer-executable codestored in non-volatile memory, wherein said item classification module,said 3D rendering module and said communications means are operablyconnected; and wherein item classification module, said 3D renderingmodule and communications means are configured to collectively performthe steps of: receiving a rendering request for a 3D shopping cart froma user; identifying one or more items associated with the renderingrequest; analyzing said one or more items associated with the renderingrequest for synergies between said one or more items; generating a 3Dordering for said one or more items associated with the renderingrequest based at least in part on said synergies between said one ormore items; and transmitting said 3D ordering to said user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D ordering isconfigured for display in a 3D manner on a computing device of saiduser.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display of saidcomputing device of said user is a 2D display.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3d ordering maybe manipulated by said user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the manipulation isachieved through the use of one or more filters.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the manipulation isachieved through the use of electronically recorded gestures.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D ordering mayrepresent said one or more items associated with a rendering request ina geometric shape.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a web-based methodfor providing a three dimensional shopping cart for ecommercetransactions includes the steps of: receiving a rendering request for a3D shopping cart from a user; identifying one or more items associatedwith the rendering request; retrieving synergies associated with saidone or more items from a data store; generating a 3D ordering for saidone or more items associated with the rendering request based at leastin part on said synergies between said one or more items; andtransmitting said 3D ordering to said user.

The foregoing summary of the present invention with the preferredembodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention.It should be understood and obvious to one skilled in the art that theembodiments of the invention thus described may be further modifiedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic overview of a computing device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a network schematic of a system, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a system for providing a three dimensionalshopping cart, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a threedimensional shopping cart in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED SPECIFICATION

The present invention generally relates to web based electronic commercesystems. In particular, embodiments of the invention are directed tosystems and methods configured to provide a three dimensional shoppingcart for the display of items to be ordered by a user or group of users.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system andmethod is accomplished through the use of one or more computing devices.As shown in FIG. 1, One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciatethat a computing device 100 appropriate for use with embodiments of thepresent application may generally be comprised of one or more of aCentral processing Unit (CPU) 101, Random Access Memory (RAM) 102, and astorage medium (e.g., hard disk drive, solid state drive, flash memory,cloud storage) 103. Examples of computing devices usable withembodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to,personal computers, smart phones, laptops, mobile computing devices,tablet PCs and servers. The term computing device may also describe twoor more computing devices communicatively linked in a manner as todistribute and share one or more resources, such as clustered computingdevices and server banks/farms. One of ordinary skill in the art wouldunderstand that any number of computing devices could be used, andembodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with anycomputing device.

In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, data maybe provided to the system, stored by the system and provided by thesystem to users of the system across local area networks (LANs) (e.g.,office networks, home networks) or wide area networks (WANs) (e.g., theInternet). In accordance with the previous embodiment, the system may becomprised of numerous servers communicatively connected across one ormore LANs and/or WANs. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciatethat there are numerous manners in which the system could be configuredand embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use withany configuration.

In general, the system and methods provided herein may be consumed by auser of a computing device whether connected to a network or not.According to an embodiment of the present invention, some of theapplications of the present invention may not be accessible when notconnected to a network, however a user may be able to compose dataoffline that will be consumed by the system when the user is laterconnected to a network.

Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic overview of a system in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention is shown. The system is comprisedof one or more application servers 203 for electronically storinginformation used by the system. Applications in the application server203 may retrieve and manipulate information in storage devices andexchange information through a WAN 201 (e.g., the Internet).Applications in server 203 may also be used to manipulate informationstored remotely and process and analyze data stored remotely across aWAN 201 (e.g., the Internet).

According to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, exchange ofinformation through the WAN 201 or other network may occur through oneor more high speed connections. In some cases, high speed connectionsmay be over-the-air (OTA), passed through networked systems, directlyconnected to one or more WANs 201 or directed through one or morerouters 202. Router(s) 202 are completely optional and other embodimentsin accordance with the present invention may or may not utilize one ormore routers 202. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate thatthere are numerous ways server 203 may connect to WAN 201 for theexchange of information, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any method for connecting to networks for thepurpose of exchanging information. Further, while this applicationrefers to high speed connections, embodiments of the present inventionmay be utilized with connections of any speed.

Components of the system may connect to server 203 via WAN 201 or othernetwork in numerous ways. For instance, a component may connect to thesystem i) through a computing device 212 directly connected to the WAN201, ii) through a computing device 205, 206 connected to the WAN 201through a routing device 204, iii) through a computing device 208, 209,210 connected to a wireless access point 207 or iv) through a computingdevice 211 via a wireless connection (e.g., CDMA, GMS, 3G, 4G) to theWAN 201. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that thereare numerous ways that a component may connect to server 203 via WAN 201or other network, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any method for connecting to server 203 viaWAN 201 or other network. Furthermore, server 203 could be comprised ofa personal computing device, such as a smartphone, acting as a host forother computing devices to connect to.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a system and methodfor providing a three dimensional (3D) shopping cart is describedherein. Embodiments of the present invention are configured to provide3D shopping carts to users for display on a computing device operated bythe user. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the systemis configured to generate a 3D ordering of items associated with ashopping cart or other ordering system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D ordering maybe comprised of an ordering (i.e., sorting, organizing) of the items tobe purchased by the user in a logical manner based on one or morecharacteristics of the items to be ordered. For instance, the user maybe a high school administrator in charge of ordering school uniforms forevery sports team for the entire school. In this example, items added tothe user's cart could be organized by grade level, color, size, sport orany combination thereof.

In certain embodiments of the present invention, depending on the numberof associations/synergies between the various items in the user'sshopping cart, the system may be configured to generate 3D orderingsbased on all the various associations/synergies (“synergies”) or anysubset thereof The number of synergies may determine the shape of the 3Drendering outlined in the 3D ordering. For instance, if there are threesynergies between all the various items in the user's shopping cart(e.g., size, color, grade level) a cube could be utilized to representthe various synergies in a 3D format with an axis representing asynergy. Fewer or additional synergies may be represented in othergeometric shapes. Also, where there are synergies between some of theitems, but not all, other geometric shapes could be used in such 3Drenderings (e.g., pyramid, cone). For instance, in a pyramid, there maybe an item with no synergies (top of the pyramid) and each level of thepyramid below comprising one or more items or groups of items withsynergies. In this manner, the system may be configured to provide for3D renderings of shopping carts with any number of synergies existingbetween the various items in the shopping cart. One of ordinary skill inthe art would appreciate that there are numerous shapes that could beutilized with embodiments of the present invention, and embodiments ofthe present invention are contemplated for using any shape with the 3Drenderings of shopping carts.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary embodiment of a system for providing3D shopping carts is shown. In this embodiment, the system includes acommunications means 301, an item classification module 302, a 3Drendering module 303, a non-transitory memory module 304, a data store305, a processor 306 and an application programming interface (API) 307.While the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment, otherembodiments may include additional or fewer components. One of ordinaryskill in the art would appreciate that there are numerous configurationsof the components that could be utilized with embodiments of the presentinvention, and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated foruse with any configuration of components.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communicationsmeans may be, for instance, any means for communicating data over one ormore networks. Appropriate communications means may include, but are notlimited to, wireless connections, wired connections, cellularconnections, data port connections, Bluetooth connections, fiber opticconnections, modems, network interface cards or any combination thereof.One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that there arenumerous communications means that may be utilized with embodiments ofthe present invention, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any communications means.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the itemclassification module may be comprised of computer-executable codestored in non-transitory memory for use in conjunction with a processorin order to instruct a computer or other computing device to performactions as described herein. The item classification module isconfigured to identify characteristics of items listed on an e-commercesystem. Characteristics of items may include, but are not limited to,size, color, shape, cut, length, width, height, weight, constructionmaterial, safety rating, price or any combination thereof. One ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate that there are numerous typesof characteristics that may be identified by the item classificationmodule and utilize in embodiments of the present invention, andembodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with anytype of item characteristics.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the itemclassification module may be further configured to identify synergiesbetween one or more items, one or more item characteristics and anycombination thereof. Synergies are most commonly formed from shared itemcharacteristics between items in the shopping chart. Simple synergiesinclude parameters associated with a similar item type. For instance,clothing may have simple synergies with regards to color, size, gender,cut, and so forth. Complex synergies may include parameters associatedwith items of varying types and characteristics. For instance, acomputer motherboard with Bluetooth functionality may share a complexsynergy with a Bluetooth enabled GPS in that their shared characteristic(e.g., Bluetooth functionality) may overlay their difference in itemtype. Other examples of complex synergies include cross item type shareditem characteristics (e.g., color of a MP3 player with the color of ashirt or other clothing item) and cross item characteristic shared itemtype (e.g., large umbrella with small umbrella). The system isconfigured for use with numerous synergies, both simple and complex, andthe item classification module is configured to identify suchcharacteristics and item types from various data points provided to theitem classification module from one or more data stores, communicationmeans, memory modules, processors, APIs or other component.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the itemclassification module may configured to store identified synergies, itemcharacteristics and item types in a data store for later retrieval,comparison, usage or any combination thereof. Data stores may include,but are not limited to, storage mediums, databases and other forms ofdata stores configured to allow for the storage and retrieval ofinformation.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the itemclassification module may be further configured to receive item listingsfrom external e-commerce systems from an API. In this manner, acentralized item classification module can receive item classificationrequests from third party e-commerce systems or other systems and theitem classification module can be configured to process the itemclassification requests and return to the third party system aconfirmation of classification and information regarding itemcharacteristics and synergies.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D renderingmodule may be comprised of computer-executable code stored innon-transitory memory for use in conjunction with a processor in orderto instruct a computer or other computing device to perform actions asdescribed herein. The 3D rendering module is configured to utilize itemcharacteristics, item types, synergies or any combination thereof, todetermine one or more 3D orderings for one or more items in a user'sshopping cart. This 3D ordering may then be processed by the user'scomputing device to display a 3D shopping cart.

In certain embodiments, the 3D rendering module may be located on acomputing device, such as a server associated with an e-commerce system.In other embodiments, the 3D rendering module may be located on theuser's computing device. In still further embodiments, portions of the3D rendering module may be located on both a computing device associatedwith an e-commerce system and a user's computing device. One of ordinaryskill in the art would appreciate there are numerous ways to implement a3D rendering module, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any implementation of the 3D rendering module.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D renderingmodule may be configured to provide filtering or other sortingcharacteristics along with the 3D ordering. In this manner, shoppingcarts with numerous synergies may be filtered or sorted along one ormore properties, allowing for simplification of the 3D ordering. Forinstance, if there are numerous synergies in a 3D ordering (e.g., >5),the resulting 3D shape presented on the user's display could be large orotherwise hard to comprehend. In this case, the user may be able tofilter or otherwise sort the 3D ordering on one or more synergy or otherfiltering characteristic in order to reduce the size of the 3D ordering.When items or synergies are filtered out of the 3D ordering, thedisplayed shape may become simpler and easier to comprehend. In certainembodiments, filtering may be done directly on the user's computingdevice. In other embodiments, filtering, ordering or other processingrequests may be transmitted to the 3D rendering module or the itemclassification module for additional processing and 3D ordering.

As shown in FIG. 4, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, an exemplary 3D shopping cart, as outlined on auser's display, is shown. In this embodiment, a 3D ordering provided bythe system has been rendered as a cube, showing synergies existingbetween items on 3 axes (i.e., X, Y, Z). Each individual cell 401represents an item or group of items and each column and row representone or more synergies between the items in that column or row.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, If a 3D orderingand associated display would result in a perfect geometric shape (suchas the cube shown in FIG. 4), but for one or more items, the system maybe configured to provide the perfect geometric shape with one or morecells greyed out or otherwise inoperable. In this manner, the system canprovide the user with visually appealing 3D shopping carts, even whenthe items do not share synergies to generate visually appealing shapes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, once displayed onthe user's computing device, the user may manipulate the 3D shoppingcart in numerous manners. For instance, the user may click and drag, orother gesture if used on a touch sensitive device or appropriatelyoperable device (e.g., tilting using a computing device with anaccelerometer), to move the geometric shape of the 3D shopping cartaround to a desired view. Further, the user may be allowed to interactwith the 3D shopping cart, by removing items, adding more items orquantity of items, viewing specific groups of items, filtering the 3Dshopping cart based on one or more item type, characteristic or synergy.

Once satisfied with the items in their 3D shopping cart, the system maybe configured to allow the user to continue to checkout and purchase thedesired goods and/or services identified in the 3D shopping cart.

Exemplary Embodiments

The following is an exemplary embodiment of a method for providing a 3Dshopping cart, as shown in FIG. 5. At step 500, the process starts witha user or third party system (e.g., API) requesting the provision of a3D shopping cart.

At step 502, the system receives the request for rendering a 3D shoppingcart. The request may be comprised of identifiers for various items orinformation pertaining to items to be classified as well as otherinformation related to the shopping cart (e.g., user information, orderinformation, merchant information).

At step 504, the system identifies the items associated with therendering request. Each item may be checked for whether the system haspreviously classified the item (i.e., information stored in one or moredata stores) or whether the item is a new item for classification.

At step 506, the system analyzes each item in the cart for synergies,characteristics and type. The system complies all the various synergiesand other features and makes a determination as to whether a 3Drendering is possible given the items in the cart (step 508).

If 3D rendering (relational ordering) is possible, the system proceedsto step 510 where the system generates the 3D ordering for the items inthe shopping cart. The system may be configured to provide one or more3D ordering, depending on the number of items, number of synergies andother information provided by the user.

At step 512, the system transmits the 3D ordering to the user or otherthird party system and the process terminates at step 514.

If 3D rendering (relational ordering) is not possible, the systemproceeds to step 516 where the system generates an unordered cart. Anunordered cart may be much like a standard shopping cart or it may be alinear or other simplistic 3D shopping cart where no ordering orsynergies are provided.

At step 518, the system transmits the unordered cart to the user orthird party system and the process terminates at step 514.

Throughout this disclosure and elsewhere, block diagrams and flowchartillustrations depict methods, apparatuses (i.e., systems), and computerprogram products. Each element of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations, as well as each respective combination of elements in theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, illustrates a function ofthe methods, apparatuses, and computer program products. Any and allsuch functions (“depicted functions”) can be implemented by computerprogram instructions; by special-purpose, hardware-based computersystems; by combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions; by combinations of general purpose hardware and computerinstructions; and so on—any and all of which may be generally referredto herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.”

While the foregoing drawings and description set forth functionalaspects of the disclosed systems, no particular arrangement of softwarefor implementing these functional aspects should be inferred from thesedescriptions unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear from thecontext.

Each element in flowchart illustrations may depict a step, or group ofsteps, of a computer-implemented method. Further, each step may containone or more sub-steps. For the purpose of illustration, these steps (aswell as any and all other steps identified and described above) arepresented in order. It will be understood that an embodiment can containan alternate order of the steps adapted to a particular application of atechnique disclosed herein. All such variations and modifications areintended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. The depiction anddescription of steps in any particular order is not intended to excludeembodiments having the steps in a different order, unless required by aparticular application, explicitly stated, or otherwise clear from thecontext.

Traditionally, a computer program consists of a finite sequence ofcomputational instructions or program instructions. It will beappreciated that a programmable apparatus (i.e., computing device) canreceive such a computer program and, by processing the computationalinstructions thereof, produce a further technical effect.

A programmable apparatus includes one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signalprocessors, programmable devices, programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, memory devices, application specific integrated circuits,or the like, which can be suitably employed or configured to processcomputer program instructions, execute computer logic, store computerdata, and so on. Throughout this disclosure and elsewhere a computer caninclude any and all suitable combinations of at least one generalpurpose computer, special-purpose computer, programmable data processingapparatus, processor, processor architecture, and so on.

It will be understood that a computer can include a computer-readablestorage medium and that this medium may be internal or external,removable and replaceable, or fixed. It will also be understood that acomputer can include a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), firmware, anoperating system, a database, or the like that can include, interfacewith, or support the software and hardware described herein.

Embodiments of the system as described herein are not limited toapplications involving conventional computer programs or programmableapparatuses that run them. It is contemplated, for example, thatembodiments of the invention as claimed herein could include an opticalcomputer, quantum computer, analog computer, or the like.

Regardless of the type of computer program or computer involved, acomputer program can be loaded onto a computer to produce a particularmachine that can perform any and all of the depicted functions. Thisparticular machine provides a means for carrying out any and all of thedepicted functions.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

Computer program instructions can be stored in a computer-readablememory capable of directing a computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to function in a particular manner. Theinstructions stored in the computer-readable memory constitute anarticle of manufacture including computer-readable instructions forimplementing any and all of the depicted functions.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

The elements depicted in flowchart illustrations and block diagramsthroughout the figures imply logical boundaries between the elements.However, according to software or hardware engineering practices, thedepicted elements and the functions thereof may be implemented as partsof a monolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, oras modules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth,or any combination of these. All such implementations are within thescope of the present disclosure.

In view of the foregoing, it will now be appreciated that elements ofthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations support combinations ofmeans for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps forperforming the specified functions, program instruction means forperforming the specified functions, and so on.

It will be appreciated that computer program instructions may includecomputer executable code. A variety of languages for expressing computerprogram instructions are possible, including without limitation C, C++,Java, JavaScript, assembly language, Lisp, HTML, and so on. Suchlanguages may include assembly languages, hardware descriptionlanguages, database programming languages, functional programminglanguages, imperative programming languages, and so on. In someembodiments, computer program instructions can be stored, compiled, orinterpreted to run on a computer, a programmable data processingapparatus, a heterogeneous combination of processors or processorarchitectures, and so on. Without limitation, embodiments of the systemas described herein can take the form of web-based computer software,which includes client/server software, software-as-a-service,peer-to-peer software, or the like.

In some embodiments, a computer enables execution of computer programinstructions including multiple programs or threads. The multipleprograms or threads may be processed more or less simultaneously toenhance utilization of the processor and to facilitate substantiallysimultaneous functions. By way of implementation, any and all methods,program codes, program instructions, and the like described herein maybe implemented in one or more thread. The thread can spawn otherthreads, which can themselves have assigned priorities associated withthem. In some embodiments, a computer can process these threads based onpriority or any other order based on instructions provided in theprogram code.

Unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context, the verbs“execute” and “process” are used interchangeably to indicate execute,process, interpret, compile, assemble, link, load, any and allcombinations of the foregoing, or the like. Therefore, embodiments thatexecute or process computer program instructions, computer-executablecode, or the like can suitably act upon the instructions or code in anyand all of the ways just described.

The functions and operations presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structurefor a variety of these systems will be apparent to those of skill in theart, along with equivalent variations. In addition, embodiments of theinvention are not described with reference to any particular programminglanguage. It is appreciated that a variety of programming languages maybe used to implement the present teachings as described herein, and anyreferences to specific languages are provided for disclosure ofenablement and best mode of embodiments of the invention. Embodiments ofthe invention are well suited to a wide variety of computer networksystems over numerous topologies. Within this field, the configurationand management of large networks include storage devices and computersthat are communicatively coupled to dissimilar computers and storagedevices over a network, such as the Internet.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresent invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthis detailed description. The invention is capable of myriadmodifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings anddescriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and notrestrictive.

1. A web-based system for providing a three dimensional shopping cart for ecommerce transactions, the system comprising: an item classification module comprising computer-executable code stored in non-volatile memory; a 3D rendering module comprising computer-executable code stored in non-volatile memory; a communications means comprising computer-executable code stored in non-volatile memory, wherein said item classification module, said 3D rendering module and said communications means are operably connected; and wherein item classification module, said 3D rendering module and communications means are configured to collectively perform the steps of: receiving a rendering request for a 3D shopping cart from a user; identifying one or more items associated with the rendering request; analyzing said one or more items associated with the rendering request for synergies between said one or more items; generating a 3D ordering for said one or more items associated with the rendering request based at least in part on said synergies between said one or more items; and transmitting said 3D ordering to said user.
 2. The web-based system of claim 1, wherein said 3D ordering is configured for display in a 3D manner on a computing device of said user.
 3. The web-based system of claim 2, wherein said display of said computing device of said user is a 2D display.
 4. The web-based system of claim 1, wherein said 3d ordering may be manipulated by said user.
 5. The web-based system of claim 4, wherein said manipulation is achieved through the use of one or more filters.
 6. The web-based system of claim 4, wherein said manipulation is achieved through the use of electronically recorded gestures.
 7. The web-based system of claim 1, wherein said 3D ordering may represent said one or more items associated with a rendering request in a geometric shape.
 8. A web-based method for providing a three dimensional shopping cart for ecommerce transactions, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a rendering request for a 3D shopping cart from a user; identifying one or more items associated with the rendering request; analyzing said one or more items associated with the rendering request for synergies between said one or more items; generating a 3D ordering for said one or more items associated with the rendering request based at least in part on said synergies between said one or more items; and transmitting said 3D ordering to said user.
 9. The web-based method of claim 8, wherein said 3D ordering is configured for display in a 3D manner on a computing device of said user.
 10. The web-based method of claim 9, wherein said display of said computing device of said user is a 2D display.
 11. The web-based method of claim 8, wherein said 3d ordering may be manipulated by said user.
 12. The web-based method of claim 11, wherein said manipulation is achieved through the use of one or more filters.
 13. The web-based method of claim 11, wherein said manipulation is achieved through the use of electronically recorded gestures.
 14. The web-based method of claim 8, wherein said 3D ordering may represent said one or more items associated with a rendering request in a geometric shape.
 15. A web-based method for providing a three dimensional shopping cart for ecommerce transactions, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a rendering request for a 3D shopping cart from a user; identifying one or more items associated with the rendering request; retrieving synergies associated with said one or more items from a data store; generating a 3D ordering for said one or more items associated with the rendering request based at least in part on said synergies between said one or more items; and transmitting said 3D ordering to said user.
 16. The web-based method of claim 15, wherein said 3D ordering is configured for display in a 3D manner on a computing device of said user.
 17. The web-based method of claim 16, wherein said display of said computing device of said user is a 2D display.
 18. The web-based method of claim 15, wherein said 3d ordering may be manipulated by said user.
 19. The web-based method of claim 18, wherein said manipulation is achieved through the use of one or more filters.
 20. The web-based method of claim 15, wherein said 3D ordering may represent said one or more items associated with a rendering request in a geometric shape. 